IT has been a hectic two months for SME Corp Malaysia and at a personal level, I feel like I have just ended a roller-coaster ride, with quadruple loops!

We finally closed off the seven series of Jom Niaga, followed by SMIDEX, Asean-India SME Conference and SME Week at end of last month. After these roadshows, consumer fairs and trade exhibitions, we were pleasantly honoured with a visit from our new Chief Secretary to the Government, Datuk Seri Dr Ali Hamsa, to our new premises at Platinum Sentral, barely 10 days after he took office. It gives me great pleasure to announce that we were his first "Turun Padang" destination.

Going down memory lane, as the pioneer group, consisting of eleven employees, to start the Small and Medium Industries Development Corporation (SMIDEC), SME Corp Malaysia has indeed come long way since its inception in 1996. SMIDEC was then tasked to spur the development of small and medium industries (SMIs) through the provision of financial assistance, advisory services, market access and other support programmes, very much skewed towards the manufacturing sector.

A new chapter unfolded when the National SME Development Council (NSDC), the highest policy-making body on SME development chaired by the prime minister, was set up in 2004. Our mandate was heightened to spearhead the development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia, formulating policies and coordinating implementation of development programmes across the 15 ministries and more than 60 agencies in all economic sectors.

It was only in 2009 that SMIDEC was rebranded to SME Corp Malaysia.

Looking back, before the National SME Development Council (NSDC) was set up in 2004, there was no specific policy or framework for the overall development of SMEs in our nation. However, in the recent years, we have made progress in that the growth from our SMEs has consistently outperformed the average economic growth of the overall gross national products (GDP). While our GDP is growing at an average of 4.9 per cent per annum, the SMEs were growing at a rate of 6.8 per cent per annum.

It is indeed a phenomenal progress, considering it was only eight short years that policies and programmes were coordinated among ministries and agencies, with the aim of streamlining efforts, optimising resources, reducing duplication as well as guiding stakeholders to ensure greater effectiveness of the delivery of government programmes. Policy initiatives introduced by NSDC have yielded positive results and were the key factors for the higher growth trajectory of SMEs between 2004 and 2010.

Yet, exciting times have not come to a halt and we are now on the road to another transformational journey that will bring us into a more intense phase. The SME Masterplan 2012-2020 will be the growth accelerator for SMEs to achieve the desired 41 per cent contribution to the GDP, 62 per cent in employment share and 25 per cent of exports by 2020.

Considered as a "living document", the SME Masterplan focuses on creating an enabling business ecosystem to accelerate and expedite the growth of SMEs. The plan lays out policy direction of SMEs across all economic sectors, including specific strategic areas, through the year 2020 in line with the aspirations of becoming a high-income nation.

A total of 32 initiatives comprising six high-impact programmes have been identified under the SME Masterplan. These programmes will be implemented by a lead ministry/agency and coordinated by SME Corp Malaysia to ensure that these programmes, along with the other complementary initiatives, will achieve the intended goals, measured through an outcome-based approach.

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On new journey, guided by the Plan